Sains Malaysiana 52(7)(2023): 2009-2020

http://doi.org/10.17576/jsm-2023-5207-10

Effects of Cobalt-60 Gamma on Microbial Elimination and Phytochemical Constituents in Orthosiphon aristatus (Misai Kucing) (Blume) Miq.

(Kesan Gamma Kobalt-60 terhadap Penghapusan Mikrob dan Konstituen Fitokimia pada Orthosiphon aristatus (Misai Kucing) (Blume) Miq.)

SYAFIQAH MHD JAMAL¹, HASNAH BAHARI², DARYL JESUS ARAPOC³, MUHAMMAD AKIF ADNAN⁴, IMRAN JAZARY MAD DIAH⁴ & AZMIZA SYAWANI JASNI¹*

¹Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

²Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 UPM Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia

³Malaysian Nuclear Agency, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia

⁴KPJ Healthcare University College, Lot PT 17010 Persiaran Seriemas, Kota Seriemas, 71800 Nilai, Negeri Sembilan, Malaysia

Received: 13 October 2022/Accepted: 15 June 2023

Abstract

Medicinal plants are used for various purposes, however, the presence of microorganisms in them is the main safety risk. The study aimed to evaluate the effects of gamma irradiation on microbial contaminants and phytochemical constituents of Orthosiphon aristatus (Blume) Miq. The plant was irradiated using doses of 3, 6, 9, and 12 kGy and the microbial contamination was assessed using phenotypic and genotypic analyses. The qualitative screening using chemical tests was performed to identify the presence of important phytochemical constituents including alkaloids, saponins, flavonoids, tannins, steroids and triterpenes. Results showed that the total microbial counts in O. aristatus were significantly reduced (P < 0.05) following irradiations at 3- and 6 kGy. Pathogenic bacteria were not detected in O. aristatus after irradiation at 6 kGy while the phytochemical constituents were conserved. In conclusion, gamma irradiation has significantly reduced and eliminated microbial contaminants and preserved the phytochemical constituents of O. aristatus. This study highlights the use of a low and specific dose, 6 kGy that is effective to reduce and eliminate microbial contaminants in O. aristatus.

Keywords: Cobalt-60; gamma irradiation; medicinal plants; microbial contaminants; Orthosiphon aristatus; phytochemical constituents

Abstrak

Tumbuhan ubatan telah digunakan untuk pelbagai tujuan, namun, kandungan mikroorganisma dalam tumbuhan tersebut merupakan risiko keselamatan utama. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menilai kesan sinaran gamma terhadap kandungan mikrob dan kandungan fitokimia dalam Orthosiphon aristatus (Blume) Miq. Tumbuhan tersebut telah didedahkan kepada sinaran gamma menggunakan dos iaitu 3, 6, 9 dan 12 kGy dan kandungan mikrob telah dinilai menggunakan analisis fenotip dan genotip. Ujian kualitatif menggunakan ujian kimia telah dijalankan untuk menentukan kandungan fitokimia utama termasuklah alkaloid, saponin, flavonoid, tannin, steroid dan triterpin. Keputusan menunjukkan bahawa jumlah mikrob dalam O. aristatus telah berkurang secara ketara (P < 0.05) selepas penyinaran pada 3- dan 6-kGy. Bakteria patogen tidak dikesan dalam O. aristatus selepas penyinaran pada 6 kGy, sementara kandungan fitokimianya dapat dikekalkan. Sebagai kesimpulan, penyinaran gamma telah dapat mengurang dan menghapuskan kandungan mikrob dan mengekalkan kandungan fitokimia dalam O. aristatus. Kajian ini memfokuskan penggunaan dos yang rendah dan khusus iaitu 6 kGy yang berkesan untuk mengurangkan dan menghapuskan kandungan mikrob dalam O. aristatus.

Kata kunci: Kandungan fitokimia; kandungan mikrob; kobalt-60; Orthosiphon aristatus; sinaran gamma; tumbuhan ubatan

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*Corresponding author; email: azmiza@upm.edu.my